NEW YORK, NY.-The Asian Art Dealers New York (AADNY) will launch Asia Week New York with thirty special exhibitions opening concurrently at galleries throughout Manhattan, commencing on March 20-21, 2010. This is the first time a group of dealers, acting as a unified entity, has staged an event of this magnitude. International dealers will travel to New York from England, France, Italy and Japan to join their American colleagues in presenting rare works of art to collectors, curators, and scholars who converge here annually for Asia Week New York to see the very best on offer.

The ground-swell of enthusiasm amongst our members is enormous, said Joan Mirviss who with Jiyoung Koo was instrumental in organizing a core group of dealers last year due to the absence of the International Asian Art Fair. In less than one year, our organization has increased in size from sixteen to thirty dealers. Everyone realizes the great potential of combining efforts to create a tour de force week of activities for collectors, curators, and connoisseurs. With thirty diverse exhibitions from some of the most prominent specialists in the world, we are confident that Asia Week New York will be nothing short of spectacular, said Mirviss.

The exhibitions will represent a wide range of subject matter appealing to many collecting tastes. The members of AADNY, who have dominated their respective field for over thirty years, with some multi-generational, specialize in a broad range of categories including Indian, Himalayan, Southeast Asian, Chinese, Contemporary Chinese, Japanese, Contemporary Japanese, Korean and Contemporary Korean art.

According to Carol Conover of Kaikodo, all of the AADNY members have long standing relationships with museums, both here and abroad. Our collective experience is vast with many curators and scholars among us, Conover said.

The dealer-run and self-vetted organization has engaged Catherine Sweeney Singer as Asia Week consultant. Ms. Sweeney Singer is also Executive Director of the Winter Antiques Show, which takes place in New York every January. AADNYs members are among the worlds most prestigious dealers in Asian art, Sweeney Singer noted. I am delighted to work with them to expand their reach and influence during Asia Week New York.

As it has for the past eighteen years, the participants in Asia Week New York will offer a weeklong schedule of museum and gallery exhibitions, auctions, and lectures throughout the city.

The most compelling attraction of Asia Week New York is the access to the world's leading dealers of Asian Art and the opportunity to partake of the richest selection of the highest quality and most diverse range of the arts of Asia throughout the city, said Amy Poster, a Consulting Curator on Asian Art and Curator Emerita of the Brooklyn Museums Asian Art Department. It affords connoisseurs, collectors, and all art lovers a chance to explore the city and Asian Art at the same time.

In step with other institutions in the Asian art field, AADNY's goal is to revitalize Asia Week New York as a leading destination for Asian art enthusiasts worldwide, said Jiyoung Koo.